A calling to the ring.

Following my post about Gladiatorial combat, there is another discussion about boxing going on.

If a boxer dies from his injuries should his opponent be charged with murder?Not a chance.

​The victim willingly entered the ring knowing the risks involved. These days, a boxer has no excuse of saying the risks are not recorded, as there are extensive writings on the injury risk of stepping into the ring.

The only possible exception is if a fighter spotted someone in the crowd who was not prepared to fight and called him to the ring.

Is there a need to believe in God if you are a boxer?

One of my recent Twitter tweets has started a discussion in the offices of Premier Christianity magazine.

The post was about boxers who "claim" God helps them win. I cannot see how this can be justified as most boxers either end up with serious injury, or worse; this year another fighter died in the ring, and the number who suffer brain hemorrhages increases by the year.​If you don't get a hemorrhage, there is a high risk of going blind from separated retinas.

The first boxing clubs were set up by the church to get boys off the streets in the hope that giving them a cause would avoid them going into a life of crime, however, this was not always the end.

In these days when fighters earn more money than you or I can dream of seeing in three lifetimes for a few minutes of punishment, is the church supporting a barbaric institute for no reason?

The support of the church for gladiatorial combat goes back beyond Roman times, but it came to the fore with the arena contests in the Roman times. The Gladiators gave the V sign and shouted "Those who fight here salute you" because they knew few of them would survive the fight, so they had nothing to lose by insulting the Emperor.

In World War 2, the German U-boat crews had a similar ritual of urinating from a hill on passing vehicles of their officers, the reason was that the survival rate for submariners was less than 1 in 6. So, out of a crew of 15, fewer than three would return.

Overall, most sports are overpaid in my opinion, the exception being motorcycle racing, which ironically is the most dangerous. If a car crashes the driver has a shell to protect him, but if a motorcycle has an accident all the rider has for protection is his leathers, and no matter how well they are made, hitting the ground at speed will soon shred them.

I couldn't care less if I tried.

This week, I had another report that my Apple account had been hacked.This is a good joke, I did have an Apple account years ago, but I got pissed off that each time I used my device I had to rethink a new password that would only last a few minutes; in the end, I stopped using Apple after only three months. This joke is never ending LOL.When I had the account, I never used it other than for buying a cricket game.

Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada.

It is such a glorious day it's hard to think November is only a few days away.November is a time of remembrance for me, as it was the last time I saw my late friend, Faye, in Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada.It is now nine years since I came back from my visit to my adopted homeland, and I still miss Canada.

Redemption.

​Gospel music has brought my soul to a position where I can live with what I did this year; I didn't commit a crime or a sin, but I needed to find a way to live with my actions. It has taken several months, but I finally got to a state of relative peace of mind.

It was terrible to have to put our dogs down, but it was worse for them to let them live and suffer in such agony; Max had a cancer larger than a football pressing on his heart, and his son was blind and dying of liver failure.

I will never forgive myself, but I can find peace knowing that what I did was for the right reasons, nobody blames me for my actions, and my family knows I can punish myself more than anyone is capable.

Religion is not an issue for me.

I have no objection to anyone's religion as long as they respect my freedom not to have their beliefs forced on me. I have friends of several ideas; when I make friends, religion is not put in the equation as I have friends whose faith I have never known.

I never knew about their beliefs because the topic of religion didn't come up in our conversations.

Peoples sexual orientation is another thing that does not bother me for the same reason.

Back to the beginning for me.

An Amazon bestseller.

In the last decade as a writer, I have been forced to reappraise my goals constantly. My original goal was to sell ten copies of an e-book in a day, even with over 400 sales of my book (Forgestriker), it has only sold five at a time.

The book that has come closest to my goal is my Amazon bestseller - Holding Richmond - which twice sold seven in a day.Now, I find victory in any sales.

Reality TV.

Three months ago, I subscribed toPremier Christianity magazine. Last month's issuewas a vast improvement, in my opinion, on my first issue as it was more about "real" people, not celebrities. If the trend for celebrity gossip continues, I can see me not extending the subscription.

​This month's issue has fallen back to being about celebrities with articles on a new TV show that I've never heard about; I said before the best way to complain about TV is not to watch the show.In this month's issue is an article on boxers who think they fight with the Lord on their side. Fighters are no more than paid thugs, in my opinion, there is nothing Christian about hitting someone so hard and often around the head and face that they risk a severe brain injury.The best a boxer can hope for is to die in the ring, the other option is dementia. If you don't think I am correct, think of how Mohammed Ali was at the end of his career, where he once was articulate, he ended his life not being able to put a sentence together.

I am waiting for an article on how Dec - of Ant & Dec fame - came to the Lord after being charged with drunk driving. He puts his drinking binges down to not being able to cope with his celebrity status, sorry that comes with the territory when you become a TV star, A&D has made more comebacks than Elvis did.If you can't take the adoration, why not stop the show, others have before you and more will in later years I am sure?